


Beauty and the Devouring

by AvaCelt



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Body Horror, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gothic, Horror, Psychological Horror, energy vampire!Henry, werewolf!Charmy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:02:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28785360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvaCelt/pseuds/AvaCelt
Summary: And just how long can one resist one's true nature in the face of eternal hunger? [Charmy/Henry, Beauty & the Beast AU, werewolf!Charmy, energy vampire!Henry, dark fairy tale romance]
Relationships: Henry Legolant/Charmy Pappitson
Comments: 11
Kudos: 8
Collections: IAmStoryteller's Best of Black Clover Fic Rec





	1. The Castle in the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Roughly 500 word chapters aided by creepy visual prompts, this is my 2021 attempt at a regular writing exercise to keep my brain sharp. I plan to write it for as long as the ideas keep churning in my head, but rest assured, it will be completed in 2021.
> 
> Enjoy my favorite crackship, and don't forget to leave a review! :'>

Isolated on a cliff overlooking the ocean, there stood an uncanny castle large enough to hold a dragon. Charmy counted ten roofs and a hundred windows, stained glass and red wood making up much of the oddly-shaped structure. Most of the castle was flanked by the untamed forest Charmy had decided to explore on whim, but the front half of the grandiose building faced the water, with no barrier separating the cliff from the ocean below.

Charmy spied a lone figure standing eerily still just steps from the precipice. Long, greyish-blue hair swayed desperately with the turbulent winds, and had the figure been any skinnier and lighter, Charmy was sure they would have been swept away by now.

She herself was attached to the trunk of a red oak some miles away from the castle, her red hood and cape sheltered beneath the blood red leaves of an old oak tree. She had an apple in one hand and her binoculars in the other, safely tucked away from sight and free to poke around wherever she desired. Hunting for food was mostly an exercise in patience, after all, and good food was hard to come around these days, now that the sorcerers had begun migrating into the big cities with their giant cannons and gleaming guillotines.

The figure in the distance finally shifted and began walking forward until their feet were planted at the lip of the cliff. Charmy frowned and wondered if she should turn away now and give them their privacy. Sure, it meant one less meal for her, but not everyone in the world could live for the nummies, after all. It left a sour taste in her mouth that so many humans could find nothing to live for when there was so much to explore in their big, beautiful world, so much to see, so much to devour.

The wind moaned forlornly in Charmy's ear, and in response, she took a bite of her juicy red apple. The figure standing at the precipice stared ahead, not below, as if the horizon was more than just an amalgam of black and grey. She wondered what was going through their mind, wondered if they even noticed the bleak sky threatening rain, or the cold wind that promised nothing but discomfort once the sun finally set. She wondered if they knew how delicious human bone tasted on such cold nights when there was nothing but an open fire to keep you company.

The figure turned its gaze towards her direction, as if they'd heard her musings. Charmy yelped and dropped her half-eaten apple. It should have been impossible for the creature to see her, especially with its human eyes – it's human, _gold eyes._ The figure had a soft face and pretty lips, all of it framed by a bountiful head of beautiful, blue hair that hung all the way down to their calves. Charmy thought about its texture, wondered if it was brittle like dried bark, or strong like thick ferns laden with moisture. Then there were the eerie gold eyes that spoke of the kind of loneliness Charmy would never wish on _any_ creature.

The figure remained placid and quiet at the edge of the precipice, even as the wind threatened to throw them over the edge and into the waters below. Suddenly, Charmy was frightened, less for herself, and more for the creature that looked towards her but not _at her_.

“You're drooling,” chuckled the wolf hiding beneath her breast.

Charmy gulped, helpless – hungry.


	2. A Walk in the Woods

Henry's curse sensed the creature long before he noticed something rustling in the woods beyond his house. He wondered, at first, if it was a nearby villager who hadn't been informed of the danger lurking in the forest, but after several days of no contact, Henry decided that it couldn't be a person because no one had ever ignored the ugly, imposing house on the cliff.

Henry decided that it had to be a beast who'd strayed too far from home.

When it dawned on him that the creature _could_ be stalking the woods for prey, Henry put on his best clothes and went out to the clearing in front of his house to wait for the beast. He did it every day, sometimes more than once, sometimes for hours, and sometimes he walked to the edge of the precipice to show the creature just how pathetic and weak he truly was. Henry dreamed of bears and coyotes. If the creature was quick, then it could end him before the curse went into effect. If it was smarter than his parents, then it could take him down in one strike. The thought brought a watery smile to his face.

Henry contemplated about the afterlife often. His books spoke of fluffy clouds and beautiful angels, but Henry knew that, that was mostly filler. What he ached for was release, and the only sweet release their world offered was through Death. Through Death his curse would finally end, and through Death he'd finally be free.

He'd no longer have to crawl into the woods on his worst days, and eat raw foliage off the ground. On his best days, he was at least able to travel the half-mile inside the forest to gather wild fruits, but Henry didn't remember the last time he tasted fish and chicken. Maybe once the beast had torn out his throat, he'd finally be able to taste all the wonders of the world in that special place in the afterlife where there was mercy for those like him. Henry was convinced it existed, because _surely_ there had to be some kind of retribution for people like him, people who'd been cursed at birth and left to die alone in a grand house once they were old enough to read their letters. Henry believed.

And so he waited, and he waited, and he continued to wait for many weeks, hoping that the creature would finally emerge from the woods and put him out of his misery. He even brought gallons of gasoline out of the storage room so that once the creature had finished killing him, one of his trusty contraptions would set the entire estate ablaze within twenty-four hours of his annihilation. Henry had it all planned out. He wanted to go in peace, and take his miserable castle with him so that no one would have to go through the pain of cleaning up the filthy rooms. He'd finally be free, and so would the forest.

But what emerged from the trees three weeks later wasn't anything even _remotely_ beastly. A living, breathing human walked out of the forest and into his domain, sheltered from the rain by a red hooded cape that obscured their face from Henry's gaze. Henry found that he was terrified. He was terrified because no one had warned this poor creature of the monster in the castle, and now it was standing in the rain beyond Henry's dirty window.

But then the head lifted to reveal a high forehead and a pudgy face framed by ringlets of thick, black hair, and Henry's breath hitched in his throat because the short, stout creature was a _woman_ and she was all alone and unaware of the danger right in front of her. Henry stifled the sob in his throat.

And the woman smiled.


	3. The Winding Staircase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the madness!!

“It's raining, la! Please have mercy!!” Charmy's shrill voice boomed through the air, and had she been any louder, she reckoned her shriek would have taken out at least ten windows. She inwardly chuckled at the thought of taking down an entire castle without a pack to assist her. Maybe, one day, when she'd found a mate and popped out a few cubs, but until then, she and her familiar were the only beasts left alive.

“Please!” She implored once more. The lord of the house had scurried away from the high window the moment he'd seen her, but she could feel his life force thrumming inside the confines of the house.

Though he was frail, Charmy sensed a powerful magick residing in his core that she wanted nothing more than to devour whole. It'd been ages since she'd eaten a fully-realized mage. At first, she'd thought she was going insane, because what mage acted so pitifully, crawling in the woods and eating whatever he could find, like some dog left to die alone after its owner had abandoned it? On one hand, Charmy felt disgusted that such a creature should even be left to roam, but on the other hand, she pitied the thing. She'd followed it for weeks, tracking its movements, and there were many moments where she could have easily drowned the thing and put it out of its misery, but she'd stopped every time because there was something awfully fragile about the messy blue hair and thin fingers.

But today had to be the day, otherwise the hunt would never end and she'd forever circle around the man in the castle. No – she would eat tonight. She would make sure of it!

“PLE-” Before she could finish her words, the doors to the giant castle screeched open. Charmy blinked before breaking into a wide grin. Beneath her breast, the wolf chuckled. She waddled into the foyer and was about to make her way deeper into the castle when she tripped on something.

“OOF!” She groaned, rubbing the sore spot on her forehead. She looked at the items on the floor and saw that a bedroll, some dirty pillows, a jug of water, and an apple waited for her. She'd tripped on the bedroll. Stifling the growl in her throat, she looked up at the man standing at the top of the winding staircase.

“Youuuuuuu caaaaan stayyyyyyy theeeere toooniiiiiight,” came the raspy, drawn-out voice. “Buuut youuuu muuuuust leaaaaave byyyyy mooooorniiiiiiing.”

Charmy blinked. She'd been so sure he was a mute! She hadn't heard him utter a single word in all the weeks she'd been stalking him, and it annoyed her that she hadn't at least _tested_ whether he'd been able to speak or not.

“Oh, this is about to get interesting,” the wolf mused inside her chest.

Charmy gave the wraith-like man a halfhearted smile. “Y-yes, my grace,” she said with her most pitiful voice. “The gods bless you for your mercy. Thank you; thank-”

But the man didn't let her finish her charade. He turned away and retreated deep into the house. Charmy heard doors slam and lock into place. The house seemed to shudder with his every step, as if he was both the lord as well as the monster that haunted the hallways.

Charmy jumped when the doors to the castle slammed shut behind her, leaving her alone in the foyer while the master of the house locked himself away deep within the castle.

She couldn't help but grin with glee when she realized she would get to hunt her prey in his own house.

* * *


	4. The Open Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a review. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Henry sat on the dirty mattress with his knees tucked underneath his chin. His aching feet had one hundred splinters he should have been tending to by now, but all he could do was stare at the wooden door that separated him from the rest of the castle.

His curse had told him that there was a monster shadowing the petite woman long before Henry properly laid eyes on her. He didn't know if she was acting as bait for one of the hunters, or if she was just some fool the beast let live so Henry could expose himself. Henry didn't care about the details. He had opened his home knowing full well that something stalked the woods, stalked _him,_ and if the woman was bait, then he could accept it so as long as death came to his door.

He'd left it unlocked.

_SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH!_

Henry gulped and pulled his knees closer. The room steadily dropped in temperature. His bedroom was a windowless chamber at the highest peak of the grandiose castle. Henry picked it for his demise because he hated everything about it, hated the browned curtains of his sinking, four-poster bed, hated the sheets that stank of mildew, hated the moldy mattress that he'd been forced to sleep on for nearly twenty years.

He'd have preferred to go with the forest so that the scavengers could pick at his carcass and find some solace in his bones, but if the beast desired its kill in the confines of his castle, then so be it. He'd let it devour him where he slept. Henry liked poetry. He didn't mind the theatrics and grandeur, as long as the job was done.

Henry just hoped the beast was fast enough. If it got too close and didn't strike him quickly enough, it'd be a desiccated carcass before Henry could count to ten. Then Henry would have to throw another pile of bones into the sea that weren't his own. He didn't want to do that again; he'd let the woman in so that she could instruct her demons to secure the place and then take him out. The whole castle was at her mercy. He hoped she'd show him some too, and finally put him out of his misery.

He smelled the hunger before he saw it. He unconsciously scrambled backwards as the curse screamed in protest, as if it knew its time had come to an end, and that Henry would finally be free of its influence. Tears sprung in his eyes. His back hit the headboard and he watched fearfully as _it_ gently turned the doorknob.

The door whined as it opened, and in the shadow of the setting sun loomed a petite woman.

“ _No!”_ Henry sobbed, realizing that there was no beast, just a stupid woman, probably a thief, maybe a murderer, lies, lies, all of it lies! She was a fool, and he was one too. She would die, and another soul would have to haunt the castle, and Henry hated it, he hated it, he ha-

The woman _jumped_ from the entrance onto the bed, a feat that should have been impossible for a short, stocky woman who was barely five feet tall, but she'd made the leap and landed cleanly on her hands and knees right in front of Henry's quivering figure. He _screamed,_ he screamed because the woman's hair was a jet black waterfall that cascaded past her shoulders and over her ample chest, and her eyes were pieces of uncut jade, so large, so beautiful that Henry could have spent an eternity drowning in them if he hadn't noticed the maw full of sharp teeth and heavy drool dripping onto his sheets.

A clawed hand swiped for his leg and closed around a thin ankle. She yanked him away from the headboard and underneath her before he could draw another breath. Henry wailed when the claw crushed the ankle still in its grip, drawing fresh blood as ruined bone poked through his skin. Henry sobbed helplessly, pain shooting through his leg and spine as the other claw ripped through his filthy shirt and exposed his pale arms and torso.

He only felt the teeth when they closed over the skin of his left arm. This time, he couldn't scream, not when clarity finally struck.

The curse hissed against his skin, trying to suck the life out of the creature crouched over him and failing miserably. Henry watched in awe as the creature ripped out a chunk of flesh and chewed hungrily. It dawned on him that this beast _was_ fast enough to take his life before the curse could suck the life from her blood and bones. A beast in a woman's skin, Henry mused thoughtfully. He'd only read about such spectacular things in his books and poems. He never imagined his demise going in the way of a grim little fairy tale. Henry felt touched that the gods had decided to bless him in such a way. Henry only wished she'd arrived sooner.

Before he could crack a smile at the irony of it all, the beast stopped chewing. She blinked just once before scrambling off of him and crawling over to the side of the bed.

Henry wrinkled his nose in confusion as he heard sounds of violent retching.

“WHY DO YOU TASTE LIKE ROTTEN MEAT, LA!?”

And then he passed out.

* * *


	5. The Merry Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charmy respected her food, regardless of the species she devoured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said these chapters were gonna be short bytes of fanwork, but I got inspired and managed to vomit a couple of thousand words. No guarantees on the length of this fic, just goin' with the flow. Enjoy the ride!

“Oh, for fuck's sake,” she barked out loud as her canines receded back into her mouth and were replaced by the flat teeth that she used for her day-to-day business.

Charmy didn't like speaking when the blade-like canines were out because she oftentimes shredded her own mouth and tongue speaking if she wasn't careful. Tonight was one of those nights because she could feel her blood mix with her victim's, and hated that some of _his_ blood now made its way into her open mouth wounds.

“Tell me he didn't just give me a disease, la.” Charmy ground out to the beast inside, eyes glowering at the figure who'd passed out from blood loss.

“No disease,” the beast drawled lazily, but then she felt the tell-tale pull of his smile beneath her chest. “Just a curse,” he finished with a small chuckle.

“Unbelievable!” She huffed, spitting out the mixture of blood and skin, and wiping her stained mouth with the edge of her sleeve. “And you couldn't tell me earlier!?”

“I didn't know until you tasted him,” the beast responded patiently. “Regardless, it doesn't effect us.”

Charmy blinked. “Whaddaya mean, la?”

Charmy felt the beast lay down on his belly inside her core, preparing for its nap while she remained hungry. “It's a trap for humans,” it continued, much more softly. “It attracts them with the frailty of its host, and then leeches their life force, keeping both itself and the host alive. How do you think the human managed to survive these past few weeks? You ever remember any of their kind being able to survive so long without adequate food or water? I wouldn't be surprised if it's been carrying it since birth. Curses like that... You have to hate the bloodline more than the individual in order to pull that kind of magick off.”

Charmy grimaced. “Foul,” she grunted at the creature with its broken ankle and torn shoulder. She couldn't imagine leaving her babies to a fate worse than death.

“Foul indeed,” the beast yawned.

Charmy blinked, realizing her newest predicament. “What do I do, la?”

The beast didn't answer her.

“Gramps, what the hell!” She screeched. The beast ignored her and instead receded into heart, falling fast asleep.

Charmy chewed her cheek and fumed at the man lying prone in front of her. It wasn't in her nature to leave scraps. When she hunted, she hunted to fill her belly to the _fullest_ , and that meant nothing was wasted, not a single bone nor tooth. She'd fashioned weapons out of the strongest bones, chewed on the ones with the juiciest marrow, and the teeth she couldn't use as payment for the trolls that guarded some of the bridges connecting the towns, she fashioned into jewelry to sell at the marketplace. Charmy didn't believe in wasting perfectly good prey. Her pride wouldn't allow it.

And so she wondered what to make of the man on the bed, whose meat and bones were thoroughly infected by a parasite that had little effect on her half-werewolf, half-dwarf nature. She wondered if she could shack up in the house for a little while, maybe use his body for the compost pile and grow some vegetables.

Charmy remembered the foul taste in her mouth and shook her head. No – she couldn't risk poisoning the Earth. She considered leaving him on his ratty mattress to die. She didn't suspect anyone would be the wiser. The mansion was a decrepit place, caked in layers of dust, mold, and the faint smell of human shit. Charmy suspected the beast was correct and the young man _had_ stayed here for many, many years prior to Charmy's arrival, and from the condition of the house and his clothes, Charmy doubted he'd looked after himself much.

Charmy supposed he didn't really have to. With no one to share the house and his bed, what did he have to live for, anyway? From the look of the room and the ratty clothes on his thin frame, and the even rattier clothes balled up in the corner of the room, Charmy supposed she could be doing him a _favor_ letting him bleed out. That way, the house and its master could wither away together, never to fool another wolf ever again.

And yet, she couldn't move. She pursed her lips, puffed out her cheeks, and fumed. It didn't feel right. It wasn't honorable. Charmy _respected_ her food, regardless of the species she devoured. She'd hunted humans, vampires, and even trolls and fae, and she'd _never_ disrespected their bones and teeth after having her fill of the meat and marrow. She'd made a mistake, and now she had to own it. She'd taken a bite of a rotten piece of fruit that only looked pretty, and now she was stuck with it. She couldn't leave him to die like this, not when he was too weak to look after himself after being mauled by her teeth. He was of no use to anyone, not even her, since she couldn't even eat his heart, but in the same breath, he was too helpless to even look after himself. Leaving him like this would be disgraceful.

And so, she stayed.

Charmy wrapped the wounds and the crushed ankle in the cleanest fabric she could find in the dirty old room, and then hoisted the man off the bed and into her powerful arms. Then she carried him out of the house and to the river under a blanket of pouring rain. She cleaned his wounds and picked leaves out of his hair. Charmy scrubbed the skin until it was pink and raw, and then she scrubbed some more because no creature, regardless of the species, deserved to live in its own filth.

The dirty hair, she found, was actually quite beautiful when washed. Charmy marveled at the powdery blue color that only darkened in the river's water. Charmy could sell it for enough money to cross the ocean. She wondered if she could scalp his head without killing him, but then decided against it when she realized she'd have to leave behind the eerie gold eyes that matched so perfectly with the majestic mane.

Once he was clean and his wounds were stitched and bandaged, Charmy carried him back to the castle. She set him up in one of the empty rooms that didn't stink of blood and mildew, and then set out to build her own shelter for the night. Charmy refused to sleep inside the house. She didn't know what other ghosts haunted the halls, and she didn't want to have to wake up with mold and dust creeping around in her lungs.

And so she built a hut underneath the cover of rain, her red hood pulled tightly around her stocky body as the rain continued to drench the Earth and the castle where her prey slept deeply.

And he didn't stir once.

* * *

The following morning, she woke up with the sun. Gathering her hood and basket, Charmy made the hour-long trek to the nearest town with a queer feeling in her chest. The beast slept deeply and said nary a word as she strolled into the grocer's and collected a variety of foods and medicinal herbs for herself and her prey.

Charmy blinked. Did he really count as prey anymore? She pondered on the semantics as she strolled up to the register and slapped her basket full of goods down on the counter.

“And where's the little lady coming from this fine morning?” The grocer asked with a jovial smile.

She blushed in response, the kind that would make any man laugh out loud, and he did. Charmy hid her own smile. It was almost _too_ easy, sometimes.

Charmy waiting patiently as the grocer counted her good and then her money. “Even as rain,” he smiled again, but that smile faltered not too soon after.

Charmy blinked quizzically up at the taller figure behind the counter.

“Stay away from the forest, Miss,” he said solemnly. “There's a demon lurking in those woods. Maybe your man's already warned you, but these woods... they're not safe for little women – for anyone, really.”

Charmy bit back the guffaw in her throat. “Oh, dear,” she gasped with mock-surprise.

The grocer gave her a grave nod. “Something lives up there in that house by the cliff. We tend to stay here where it's far enough away, but if we do need to go into the forest for wood, we go in groups, so if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to bother one of us townies and we'll let you know when the next excursion is. Safety in numbers, you see.”

Charmy wondered if he knew werewolves loved hunting another pack just as much as they loved eating flesh. She gave him a beaming smile and nodded eagerly. “Thank you, sir. I'll remember not to stray too far.”

He gave her one last smile as she gathered her basket. The beast, now awake, chuckled inside her head.

* * *

When she returned to the castle, the smell of blood had already began to waft through the house. Charmy grimaced at the nasty odor and made her way to the room where she'd left her former prey. When she entered, she found him cowering on the floor, having managed to roll himself off the bed in his desperate and failed attempt to run. Where? Charmy didn't know, but she _did_ know that he'd ruined her perfectly good splint and managed to rip some of the stitches on his shoulder as well.

Charmy peered at the creature who clutched his ruined ankle while big, fat tears rolled down his pretty little face. Blood stained the bandages on his shoulder, while the splint on his ankle was already crooked because of meddling hands. His hair, disheveled but clean, framed his thin, sharp face, but even beneath the blue curtain, Charmy could spy those frightened, gold eyes.

She found that they were just a _touch_ prettier when wet with tears.

“It's your own fault for falling off the bed, la!” She huffed and puffed as she trudged over to the shaking figure. He yelped as she hoisted him off the ground and plopped him back onto the bed. “Now stop messing up my good work and just stay put, will you!?”

“He's gonna piss his pants,” the beast cackled in her chest.

Charmy gasped, as if scandalized. “You better not pee on the bed, la!”

The man blinked back his tears and gave her a puzzled frown? “Whaaaaaaat?”

“No one can hear you except me, dumbass,” the beast snorted.

Charmy fumed once more. “Never mind, la!”

Before the man could scramble away again, she grabbed his good ankle and pulled him towards her. He let out a short scream that ended abruptly when she pushed a loaf of bread into his mouth.

The man blinked up at her with puzzled, golden eyes.

“Shut up and eat while I fix your bandages,” she clipped. Before he could spit out the bread, she bent over and showed him the blade-like teeth that pushed through the flesh in her mouth and painted her mouth red. “Or else.”

He nodded once and then started chewing on the bread. Satisfied, Charmy huffed and puffed, and got to work.

After a short while of undressing, fixing, and redressing the bandages, Charmy wiped her brow, washed her hands, and then plopped down on the lumpy mattress with her-

What was he again?

“M-muh,” gulped the creature. “Myyyyyyyyyyyyy naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame isssssssssssssssssss Heeeeeenryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy,” he drew out in that uncanny voice that said he spoke little, if ever.

Charmy, annoyed that he looked so pretty even when he was such a mess, merely huffed and puffed and turned her head away. “I don't care, la!”

“Liar,” snickered the beast inside.

Charmy was about to snap at the wolf when she was suddenly struck by a sniffle. Charmy turned back to the human and saw that he was frowning deeply. His golden eyes were welling up with tears again as his bottom lip quivered. Charmy gaped at the sight.

“Aww, you hurt his feelings,” the beast teased.

“Why are you crying, la!?” She shrieked.

Henry responded by bursting into tears again, and the beast howled with mirth inside her chest.

“CHARMY PAPPITSON, OK? NOW STOP CRYING, LA!”

It took another five minutes of sniffling and wiping snot and tears off his face with a piece of cloth before the human finally quieted down and Charmy finally screwed her head on right.

“Charmy Pappitson,” she repeated once more, “and don't you forget it!”

“Whaaaat aaaare youuuuu?” The creature whispered with wonder.

“He couldn't figure it out from the teeth alone? Sheltered little homebody,” the beast mused with a chuckle.

Charmy beamed, mouth full of sharp teeth on display. She risked a torn lip just to say the next words. “Why, a beast of course!”

And with that, she gave him a tiny wink before making her merry way out of his room and back to her little hut outside.

* * *


End file.
